Beyond the Palace Walls
by The Princess of the Stars
Summary: Modern-day Aladdin. Jasmine is fed up trying to be wed to men she doesn't know, and escapes the palace for adventure. Aladdin is tired of never getting anywhere in life, and wants things to change. The two find each other at a time both need it most.
1. Chapter 1

The young princess rolled her eyes with a scoff, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Her father was giving her the third lecture of the week, a new record — it was still only Tuesday.

"Honestly, Jasmine, I don't understand why you object to this so strongly; you knew this was coming. You're being difficult." The Sultan was at least a head shorter than his daughter, and though he ruled their entire land, the princess was the one person who couldn't be intimidated by his title.

"Well, you know my opinion on the subject, don't you, Father?"

The Sultan sighed, rubbing his brow wish his eyes squeezed shut. "Come now, my darling…your mother and I had a marriage organised by _our_ parents…and I'm not throwing you to someone you've never met before. I've found plenty of suitors for you to meet with! It's your pick out of the lot of them."

"Hmm," she agreed sarcastically. "A quick interview over dinner is a perfect way for me to find the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. Of _course_ I'm going to fall in love with someone that easily!"

"Jasmine," she could tell he'd had more than enough. "You will build a connection with someone over time…you have to get to know them at any rate, you might as well make your country proud and do so in marriage."

Jasmine let out a very unladylike, frustrated groan and turned her back to her father. "I'm not ready for this, father. I haven't _lived_ yet! I've been cooped up inside my whole life, always being watched, always being taken care of, always being… _controlled!"_ she turned back to him quickly, her hair whipping heavily against her hips. "When do I get to go outside and explore the world for myself?! How am I going to have those chances with a _husband?!"_ she spat the word with disgust.

Her father was silent for a long moment, watching his daughter with something that almost resembled pity. She hated it. "Jasmine…you know that's not something you're able to do. You belong here, for Agrabah."

"Lucky me,"

"Please, dearest, be reasonable. This was always how it was going to be for you."

"I'm done speaking about this," she turned away from her father once again, sitting on her heavily decorated bedding with a finality that told him she wasn't going to continue the conversation any further.

The Sultan balled his fists, shaking them with frustration and fled from his daughter's room before he lost his temper properly.

Jasmine sighed, staring at the wide double doors before her, before finally breaking down in tears. Rajah raised his large head from a cushion at her feet and followed her with his eyes as she crossed the wide room and threw the doors open, launching herself against the thick barrier of her balcony overlooking the palace gardens, half-hoping the pillars would somehow give way and let her fall, finally free, free to fly out into the world. The lights of the city's occupant's cars shone beyond the great wall of the gardens, though she couldn't see the vehicles themselves. She could hear the muffled sounds of loud voices coming from her citizens she'd never gotten the chance to meet. Someone close to the palace must have been having some sort of party — she could hear distant music, and every so often, a group of people would burst into laughter. Her fingers tightened on the rim of the railing and she felt Rajah close in on her right-hand side.

"I'm getting out of here," she told him, perhaps for the hundredth time.

The tiger was her best friend. Of course, in the beginning he had been an expensive excuse for her to be happy stuck inside all of the time. She loved him dearly, for the fact that he was something that should be unattainable and it made her seem all the more interesting, but also because she had genuinely formed a bond with the beast. She figured she would be mad if it weren't for his company.

"Rajah," she sighed and put her hand on his haunches, sinking to sit beside him. "Let's….let's just… _go._ "

* * *

"Stop! _Thief!"_

Aladdin rolled his eyes, the loaf of bread clutched tightly in his arms as the security guards of the main roads of Agrabah followed him down the narrow streets _yet again._ Surely they would think to give up. They'd never caught him before. They must knew they didn't stand the chance now.

"It's a loaf of bread!" he shouted back to them. "Throw the change in yourself! You know you'd rather get paid to stand around and act like nothing happened!"

They faltered, and stopped, and Aladdin rounded one last corner and slowed down to a comfortable walk, breaking a piece of crust and chewing on it as if it were the most delicious meal he'd ever tasted.

It was a good day for Agrabah; not too hot. The sun still beat down hotter than it perhaps should have, but the wind was cool enough for the market place to be alive with families out for the day. Street performers tried to attract the attention of customer's between the little tents which showed handmade and imported wares for sale, and a live band played through loud speakers placed around the square. Aladdin tried to stick to the market whenever it was in town. A lot of the people here weren't from central Agrabah, and therefore didn't know his face. It was easier to be around people who didn't know him than people who would move their property out of his view or scowl at him as if he were the worst type of criminal.

It still wasn't enough for him to walk as confidently as a young man his age should have. He'd never once wanted to live the way he currently did. He'd always had big plans for himself. But with his father leaving when he was so young and his mother dying before he had a chance to properly learn about the world, it had been hard. He'd struggled for days before finally stealing the minimal food that helped him stay alive those early couple of years, and what money he had now had been made by working too hard and earning too little. He'd grown up in a rough part of town where families had struggled as much as he had, and without anything behind him now, no work history or anyone to make a reference for him, he'd found it impossible to land anything that would promise an income of any sort. Not to mention it was hard for him to clean up for an interview with only a few changes of clothes he'd been holding onto for years and no where to have a proper shower.

He hadn't been walking long when he noticed two small figures standing suspiciously close to a food stall, their wide eyes wandering over the passers-by in a way they probably thought seemed completely innocent. He couldn't keep the smirk off his face when the older of the two — the girl reached and grabbed some kind of pastry off the table, grabbed her younger brother's hand, and fled right in his direction, both of them giggling with excitement. He made a point of standing right in their way, his hands on his hips as they skidded to a stop before him, worried until they realised who he was.

"Now, now…do you really think that's enough for the both of you?"

Their wide eyes watched him expectantly as he tore what was left of his bread in half and handed each of them a piece. It was a regular thing to do. They lived nearby and he kind of felt it his duty to take care of them. He'd only been a year or two older than the girl when he was left all on his own, and he knew how hard it was. He couldn't imagine how she matured enough to take care of her brother and supply for him as well at such a young age.

The two never really said much. He'd caught them speaking to each other from time to time when they didn't know anyone was listening, but yet again, they offered him a smile as a thank you and were on their way once more, not looking back as they left Aladdin in their tracks. He watched them disappear in the crowd and sighed, turning around and taking the whole scene in.

His back was still turned when three figures jumped right onto him, knocking him forward onto his knees.

"Gotcha!"

He groaned and struggled to throw the one body off his shoulders before he finally got back to his feet. "Geez, guys, on a market day and everything…you'd think you'd be more civilised."

His three friends grinned back at him. Kassim had already put his quick hands to good use and held a box of biscuits which he was currently snacking on.

"What took you so long?"

Aladdin sighed, "I was hungry, and Razoul thought it should seem like he was doing his job until I reminded him that he really couldn't be bothered."

Omar snickered. Aladdin felt something inside him sink a little bit. His friends couldn't care less about living like this. They'd grown up with it, as he had, but to them it was a completely acceptable way to get by. He was the only one who wanted more out of life, and he couldn't really understand that. It was probably easier, he admitted to himself, to live as they did; better to avoid disappointment with not being able to get a proper job and make actual money. Still…he'd like to think one day he could be someone he could be proud of. He had no future with the way things were now.

"You okay?"

He nodded and forced some kind of a smile on his face. The day was young and the marketplace was busy. He could have a good day with his friends.

After finding a few stalls offering free samples (free samples were better than stealing, at least), the four friends sat upon a table close to the band, watching them perform in silence while they ate what little food they had left. Market day always meant Aladdin wasn't as hungry for a couple of days. It was like he stored up for the week. If he'd finished his bread this morning, he might actually feel full for a change.

Although he was in a little bit of a daze watching the amateur performers, he _did_ notice when Babkak leaned forward, his eyes narrowed interestedly. He nodded, forcing his friends to look the same way.

"Hey, check it out,"

It took Aladdin a moment to figure out exactly where he was looking, but once his eyes fell on her, he didn't think he would ever be able to look away again.

She'd tried. Her outfit blended in with all of the other shoppers at the market. Agrabah's poorer quarters didn't have nearly enough money to spend it on new clothes. But her head was uncovered, and underneath the simple fabric she seemed to be covered in jewels and gold.

But that wasn't why Aladdin seemed to be hypnotised by her. The gold and the jewels stripped away, she still would have been the most exquisite thing he had ever seen, and he was _sure_ he'd never seen her before.

Her eyes were bright and wide, wandering around each stall as if she'd never seen such a thing as a market before. The hands which held her robes to her, probably trying to hide as much of herself as possible, were long and slender, even her fingernails taken care of and absent of any dirt or scratches. Her face was painted beautifully, and her hair pulled back and pinned gracefully from her face, though it still seemed to be the thickest and heaviest and silkiest hair Aladdin had ever seen in his life.

And here she was, just wandering around the poorest streets of the huge city, her expensive accessories on show for everyone to see. Everyone like Aladdin. Who wouldn't think twice about "accidentally" bumping into someone like her and leaving her with nothing. She was quite tall, but she didn't look like she would know how to put up much of a fight.

As if she had been able to read his thoughts, she pulled the hood of her robes over her hair and hid everything but her face.

"How do you think she ended up in a place like this?" Babkak murmured just loud enough for his friends to hear. All four of them were still staring in her direction. Aladdin wondered if they were for the same reason he was.

"She's definitely in the wrong place," Kassim agreed darkly as they watched her pull an apple from the fresh fruit stand in front of her. "Maybe she needs some help. Those earrings look way too heavy for her to be able to think straight."

Aladdin's heart was racing, and his stomach was in knots just thinking about what he was going to do…he couldn't talk to someone like her. But Omar started chuckling at Kassim's joke and he pushed himself to his feet before he could think. "Mine,"

"Wha—" he didn't turn around, knowing they would be trying to figure out what had gotten into him. Aladdin wasn't the one out of the group who preyed on pretty girls. He tried to only take from people who wouldn't notice the loss. But if he didn't get to her first, it would be his friends or strangers that took advantage of her and for some strange reason he felt he had to take care of her.

He didn't make it to her fast enough. She handed an apple to a small figure — the same kid Aladdin had only given his breakfast to an hour ago, in fact — and the boy hopped away happily, then turned and wandered away. Unfortunately, she wasn't as stealthy as most of the other people in town, because the vendor had been watching her the whole time, and reached forward to grab her arm before she could get too far away.

"You'd better be able to pay for that!" he shouted loudly, pulling her to him rougher than necessary.

Aladdin couldn't hear her part of the conversation, but she looked terrified now, and tried to pull her arm back. The man wouldn't have it. He leaned over her, his voice carrying so she attracted even more attention than before. Aladdin hurried his feet, pushing past people rudely as he struggled to get closer, to help this poor, ignorant girl who seemed to have no idea about taking care of herself.

"Thief!"

Aladdin's hand fell on his, and he slipped his cheesiest grin on. "Thank you, kind sir, I'm so glad you found her."

"What are you —" Aladdin silenced her with a subtle wink.

"You know this girl?"

"Sadly yes," Aladdin sighed as the man's hand loosened and fell from the girl's arm. "She is my sister…she's a little crazy."

The man looked between the two of them with doubt, and Aladdin knew his story was weak. The girl looked as though she bathed every single day. Aladdin didn't really have much of an excuse for his old clothes which were just about hanging off of him. Or his hair. He didn't know what _that_ was doing nowadays.

But the man had let go of her, and that was good enough for the boy. Aladdin reached out with his foot, past the man, swiping another apple, and skilfully passed it into his hand, then into the man's. "But, no harm done." The fruit vendor looked at the apple in his hands in confusion, and Aladdin pulled the girl away as quickly as he could manage, loudly mentioning something about going to see a doctor.

Aladdin threw a grin over his shoulder at his friends, who were still watching them from their place on the table. The girl's body was tense, probably because some dirty stranger had his hands on her and was leading her into the even dirtier streets of Agrabah. Aladdin cleared his throat a couple of times, trying to figure out exactly what he should say, but ended up dropping his hands from her shoulders. "You're in a rough part of the city. It's probably not the best idea to be wondering around by yourself."

The was silent for a long moment, but her lips were pressed together tightly. "Thank you…for stopping him."

"Ahh — forget it," he scratched his head awkwardly and looked over his shoulder, half expecting to see someone following them. Why would a girl like this be left to wander the streets by herself? "Where are you headed?"

"I don't know," she answered quietly. "I haven't figured that part out yet."

He pursed his lips. What to do. There wasn't anywhere they could really go that was safe for her to be sitting out in the open…but she might feel weird being taken back to his home. "Are you hungry?"

"Oh," she paused for a second, looking down at herself as if to check. "Yes, I guess I am."

"I have some fruit, if you want?"

Her eyes were wide as she looked over at him, but he didn't know whether that was in surprise or whether she was sizing him up. "All right," she answered, more confidently than expected.

She didn't say much as they worked their way out of the crowds. Aladdin didn't like to be centred too closely to anything that would bring more attention to him. He'd made a home in the back streets of abandoned stores, along with a few others who couldn't afford a proper roof over their heads. The graffiti and trash on the roads got more and more as they moved closer to his home, and the girl beside him seemed to grow smaller and smaller with each step. When they reached his front door, her hands were clinging to her robes so tightly that it looked painful."

"Are you okay?"

Something in the way he spoke seemed to ease her, because she nodded and loosened up a little bit, then opened her mouth in surprise as he reached for the door. "Is this where you live?"

"Yep," he ignored the way he felt self-conscious. What had her home been like? Probably two or more floors and wide, open rooms decorated with all of the most expensive wares. He wondered whether to just turn around and take her back to the marketplace. Before he could think again, he slid open the door. "My own little palace."


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi everyone. This chapter is short, but the third chapter is being worked on already and won't take too long to upload. Aladdin is really close to my heart and has been for twenty-one years, and I hope there are people out there who love it as much as I do._

* * *

Jasmine kept her arms close to her as they walked through Agrabah from the marketplace. As they got further and further from where the boy had found her and the crowd grew less and less, the streets became less kept. Lone people sat against walls on dirty blankets and signatures sprayed in paint decorated abandoned store's walls. Random people called out after them, but the boy beside her didn't react, so she tried not to, either. They made her feel unsafe and unsure. She knew her new companion should have made her feel the same way, and she definitely shouldn't be following a stranger out of the busier part of the city, but something about him told her not to worry. She hadn't even gotten a good look at his face yet — she just knew he was the first person who had shown her any genuine kindness and she felt she could trust him. She'd been raised her entire life to take a good look at people, determine whether they would respect her or not. Being a princess didn't always attract the safest of people, and she felt she was good at judging character.

The boy didn't touch her, but she kept close to his side. Every so often she could feel him looking across at her, checking on her, probably. Her hood stayed over her face, but her eyes wandered interestedly. She didn't know Agrabah was like this.

Though she had never been able to explore for herself, she had left the palace gates on quite a few occasions. Usually celebrations of sorts, and always within the confines of a car. She'd only walked in parts of the city twice before, and she'd been surrounded by guards on both occasions. What she'd seen were beautifully sculpted buildings and ornately decorated fountains and walls. The people she'd spoken to had been dressed from head to toe in the finest silks and fabrics, and were heavy with jewels. If someone had told her, just hours from her home, there were people with not even enough clothing to keep them out of the sun, she would not have believed them. Agrabah had seemed to wealthy to her before. This was like a dream.

The boy led her through narrow streets, behind what supposedly had once been a busier part of the city. Store signs on crumbling buildings were faded, and doors stood off their hinges, but there had definitely been some kind of traffic through here once, years ago. Jasmine wondered why it had all been abandoned.

After a good half an hour or so, they came to an old, shabby-looking van, appearing to have been hand-painted in dark purples and blues. The paint peeled in patches, revealing the original white colour underneath, though it was covered in dirt, and curtains hung over every window.

"Are you okay?" the boy asked quietly as they walked.

Jasmine was surprised to hear his voice. He hadn't said anything since they left the marketplace. She realised her hands were aching, and she let go of her robes, her hands staying in place, but not straining at the fabric. She nodded in answer and he looked away to reach for the door of the van. "Is this where you live?"

"Yep," he cleared his throat, hesitating for a moment before he pulled the wide door to the side. "My own little palace."

Okay, this was where she definitely should have started feeling uncomfortable. A stranger taking her to a _van_? But the boy was just standing there, beside the door, a couple of feet from her still. If she had wanted to run, she could have, and she suspected he was giving her space for exactly that reason. His face wasn't menacing at all, but unsure, perhaps a little embarrassed. He didn't make eye contact with her as he waited for her to move, but looked over her shoulder into space. He waited a second longer, then moved first, climbing into the van and offering her his hand. She took it immediately. His skin was rough, despite his age. He helped pull her into the vehicle and then moved to sit in the driver's seat, leaving her in the wide back area.

The entire room was filled with flat cushions, blankets and curtains. It was comfortable, despite the space. All deep golds and reds and purples and blues, the only light from the open sliding door beside her. She was surprised to see, though it was cluttered, it was clean. He took care of his home. A small bowl with a few apples sat on the dashboard in front of him, and he grabbed one and passed it to her, rolling down his arm from his shoulder and hitting it off his elbow, straight into her hands.

She looked down at the apple, again with surprise. This wasn't what apples at the palace looked like. It had…holes. And in places the flesh gave way underneath her fingers. She applied pressure with her fingertips, squishing it a little bit. How old was it? Why hadn't she seen this before? Why didn't this boy have the same apples she'd been given her entire life? Usually the ones from the palace went uneaten and were taken and replace the next day, while they were still perfect…she didn't understand.

"So, where are you from?"

She scoffed at his question. "What does it matter? I ran away and I am _not_ going back."

"Really?" out of the corner of her eye, she saw the boy turn in his seat to face her, his leg swung into the back. For the first time she properly looked at him. His eyes were perhaps the gentlest she'd ever seen, guarded, as if he constantly kept in mind she might be frightened. He wore an old, tattered pair of paints, too big, with a patch on one of the legs. It looked as if he'd tried to sew it on himself. He wore no shoes, and the soles of his feel were completely black. A long scar worked its way from his big toe to the inside of his foot. The purple vest he wore could have belonged to him when he was much younger. Maybe it fit him properly when he first received it. Now it was too small, hung open from shoulder to shoulder as if he had grown and it had forgotten to do the same. His shoulders were quite wide in build, but skinny, just like the rest of him. Jasmine wondered how much food the boy actually had to eat on a daily basis. His figure told her he was malnutrition. It probably also made him look younger than he was. Jasmine guessed, despite the youthful look of his body, from the intelligent way he'd spoken to her, the way his eyes were full of something more mature than she could ever understand at this point, he was probably seventeen, eighteen. Learned from his seemingly tough life in a short amount of years. It made her feel very ignorant.

"How come?" his question had her realising she'd been staring at him, and she immediately turned and hung her feet out of the door, staring into the empty street before her. She could see the higher, more elaborate buildings in the distance. A golden dome could be seen way off, and she wondered if it was that of her home.

She sighed before she answered him. "My father's forcing me to get married."

"Oh," she felt him move, and all of a sudden he was sitting beside her, looking out of the van the same way she was, his feet kicking aimlessly in the air. "That's…that's awful. I wish there was something I could do to help," he leaned on his arm toward her, offering a small smile, though it was one harbouring a bit of pity.

"That's very sweet of you to say," she answered with a smile of her own.

And then…they were just sitting, gazing at each other, as if neither of them knew how to stop. Jasmine counted the seconds, unsure of what she should do now, unsure of what he would do. The boy seemed lost to her right now, and she was sure she looked the same. His eyes were so, so gentle. A deep, rich brown which she could fall right into. They were telling her something now, and she silently asked for them to speak up, tell her exactly what it was they were trying to say. Though his face was marked with dirt and dust, it was clear. She noticed another small scar through his left eyebrow and wondered how it had gotten there. She would have to ask him. She felt her lips had been parted for a long moment, and the tip of her tongue felt dry, but he was leaning toward her, and she panicked. Did she want this to happen? Yes, she decided. Yes, she definitely, definitely did. She felt more of a connection with this boy than anyone she had met in her life, even if they were from completely different worlds. And he was leaning closer and closer, and she licked her lips in preparation, feeling her eyes grow heavy, leaning toward him, as well. His hair smelled like fire, she noticed.

They were only inches apart when a few obnoxious voices carried toward them. The boy hesitated, his eyes flying open, and he straightened up, grabbing the sliding door and pulling her out of the way before he pulled it shut. He swore quietly, and she saw his silhouette raise a finger to its lips in the dim light from the dark sheets hung over the windows.

"What is it?" she whispered in panic. The singing grew louder, and her heart thumped against her chest, waiting for him to tell her the worst.

"My friends," he almost growled.

"We know you're home, Al!" one voice called after a few seconds.

"Let us in, we have dinner for you."

Jasmine turned to him, nervous that they were sitting so close together in the dark. "Are they okay?"

"They're…okay. Not the kind of guys your'e probably used to spending your time with, though."

"But they won't hurt me?"

"No," he said immediately. Then paused, "I'd keep an eye on your jewels, though."

A fist hammered on the opposite side of the door and Jasmine jumped, nodding at him when he hesitated on opening the door back up.

"Hey, guys,"

The three men outside of the van were all silent for a long time, their eyes mostly staying on Jasmine. Despite all of her layers, she suddenly felt naked. "What's going on here?" the shortest of the three asked first.

"We're just talking," her companion said firmly. "What did you bring?"

"There was a pizza stand there today," a larger man started, staring down at the box in his hands. "An order for five went out, and the guy took a little too long coming back for them, so we thought we would take them off their hands. A favour, really,"

Stolen food. Jasmine eyed the box, unsure of how she felt about this. It was a crime to take things that didn't belong to you — she'd seen that first hand earlier today in the very same marketplace. An apple was one thing…five boxes of food, though? These men must have been very quick and well practised.

The boy beside her reached for the box his friend was holding. "Thanks," he said honestly. "You didn't have to bring me this, you know,"

"We know. But we'd had enough, and we thought we would just drop by and see how you're getting on," the man speaking, once again, looked toward Jasmine, and she took the opportunity to look down into her lap. Her headband suddenly felt way too heavy on her head.

"I'm fine, thanks,"

"Well…let us know if you need anything. Or have anything you want to show us," the big guy put his hands on the other's shoulders and steered them away, murmuring something that was too quiet for Jasmine to hear. The three began laughing after a moment, but they disappeared around the opposite side of the van so that she couldn't follow where they were going.

"Sorry about that," the boy said sincerely. "They're okay people, I promise. They just don't really want to focus on some of the things they probably should be, is all."

Jasmine tried to find words, but just couldn't think of anything to say. The boy held up the box in his hands. "But we have food for tonight. That's one good thing, I guess."

The princess realised she was still holding the apple from before, and before she could think better of it, she put it to her mouth and took the biggest bite she could manage. She tried to think of what she would have done if a maid had brought her such an apple at the palace. Probably asked them what they were thinking. It didn't really seem edible. But it was obvious food wasn't the easiest thing to come by around here, if the boy was acting so lucky to have it tonight, and she didn't want to offend him. He'd offered her the apple out of kindness, and he probably didn't even realise there was anything wrong with it. Her heart sank as she watched him stare at the box in his hands. He looked as though he was too embarrassed to look at her.

"What is your name?" she asked him quietly.

"Aladdin," he answered, lifting his chin in a confident act. "What's yours?"

"Jasmine," she said before she could think, then froze. Would he know her? Did he know his princess' name? She wondered how much of the Agrabanian news reached his ears. Had she blown this entire thing? Would he even _care_ if she were the escaped princess?

"Suits you," was all he said.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun set slowly over her city, and for the first time in her life, Jasmine watched it from the ground. It seemed to get too dark too early, and orange lamps were ignited in the streets around her, but in Aladdin's little corner of the world it remained dark. He lit a small oil lamp in the front of his van, and Jasmine couldn't help but wonder how much of a fire hazard that would be. He was quiet after his friends had left. He'd offered her pizza and she ate her share, the two of them sitting in silence for the most part. He kept insisting she have the bigger share, and while she could have easily kept eating, she figured he deserved it. He would have had it all had she not been around.

"I bet this is different to what you're used to, huh?" his voice was quiet, and it seemed to be coming from another world as she watched the light flickering against the drapes in the back of the purple and blue van.

She snorted quietly. "You have me all figured out, don't you?"

"Honestly? I have no idea. I thought I did, to begin with. But I thought you would have disappeared by now, too. You're still here, eating bad food in a bad part of town."

She couldn't help but smile at the pizza crust in her hands. "Let me know whenever you get sick of me. I'll disappear promptly."

"Don't do that," he almost whispered from the front seat. He'd moved back when the sun had gone down. Probably to make her feel more comfortable, she suspected.

"What's your story?" she asked him interestedly "Did you run away?"

"From what?" he chuckled, perhaps a little bitterly. "I run away from everything, every day. Not in the noble, self-respecting way you did, by the way," he cleared his throat and looked away from her, kicking at a part of the passenger's seat. "I'm trapped here, I guess. That's as much of a story as I have."

"Where is your family? Why are you living _here?"_

The boy glanced toward her uncomfortably, just for a second, then his eyes settled on the covered window, as if he could see through the sheet and was watching something outside with interest. It was a long time before he opened his mouth again, but Jasmine waited. "My father left when I was really young…I don't know how old I was, to be honest. I can't really remember anything about him. He _said_ he was going out to look for something better for us, but…I don't know what happened to him. He either got into some trouble or just couldn't be bothered coming back for us." Jasmine heard him swallow loudly. "Honestly, I hope something happened to him. It tortured my mother when people said he just gave up on us. At least, if something _did_ happen to him…it wasn't us that drove him away."

"And your mother?" the princess asked quietly.

"She died a couple of years ago," he answered casually now, leaning back in his seat like it didn't bother him at all. She could tell he felt the complete opposite. "She was sick for a long time, I think. I tried to do everything I could for her, but we just didn't have enough to get her the help she needed."

Jasmine couldn't see his eyes anymore, his eyelashes covering everything to his cheekbones as he stared into his lap, and she knew he was trying to hide from her. She spoke up so quietly her voice almost didn't work. "My mother died, too."

The boy looked toward her, but didn't make eye contact. "I'm sorry,"

"I'm sorry," she answered. "And…why do you live in a van?"

He shrugged once, and finally looked at her properly. "Beats living on the street."

"On the street?" she repeated. She remembered the dirty people with their blankets they'd walked past on their way to his home, and her heart raced uncomfortably. Surely those people didn't _sleep_ there…

"What, do you think everyone in Agrabah has a roof over their heads?" he shook his head slowly. "You must live even farther away than I expected."

"But _why_ don't they have homes?! Everyone has a home!" she was confused. People just grew up with roofs over their heads, didn't they? There were so many buildings in Agrabah — certainly people could find accomodation easily enough.

"Money," he answered simply. "No money, no shelter."

"Money?" she repeated. "It's a building!"

"And you don't just get to squat in someone else's building without paying. You get in trouble for that, along with almost everything else when you come from this part of town."

Jasmine frowned at him. Agrabah wasn't the place she had learned it to be. "Did you live in here with your mother?"

"No," he looked away from her again. His mother was still a painful subject to him, obviously. "No, we had a home. She lived there with my father when I was born, and we stayed when he left. She was respected by people around here…she was a good person. But when she died, I gave it up to another family. They needed it more than I did."

"And then you came here?"

"No, _then_ I slept on the street. For a good year or so, too. Then I got a bit of work — it didn't last long — and I managed to keep enough money to take this off someone's hands. He was doing it hard and couldn't afford to keep it, so he sold it cheap. Thank goodness, because I'd probably still be out there if it weren't for him."

"Does it run?"

Aladdin shrugged again. "No idea. It did when he sold it to me, but that was a year ago, again. It's been here since I bought it. I can't afford to fill it, and I wouldn't know how to drive it at any rate."

"I bet you could figure it out."

"I'd need the money, first."

She wondered how to approach the next subject. "Your friends seem to get by okay without making money."

"Hmm," he agreed. She wondered if it was anger she saw in him now. Or disappointment. The gold light from the lamp lit up his profile, and her eyes had adjusted to be able to make out his expression easily in the dark night. "They're happy with how they're living, honestly."

"But you're not."

He sighed thoughtfully. "I kind of made a promise to my mother that I would better myself. Live honestly, sort myself out, have a better life than she did."

"And?"

Aladdin shook his head. "I tried. I'm still trying. I speak to her every day, and she'd know I was doing my best. I don't steal for the sake of stealing anymore, like my friends do. Just if I _need_ something. Sometimes I go days without eating, but the stores here don't sell all the food they have, and I figure a loaf of bread in my hands is better than in the trash."

Stealing food didn't seem like such a crime to her when she heard about it from this intriguing boy before her. "I think that's fair."

"But what's your plan, now that you're here? Where are you going?"

She looked a little guilty. "Don't laugh at me," she started. "I have no idea what I'm doing. To be honest, I've never really seen much of the city at all. I didn't know what to expect when I got here, and now that I've done it, I feel lost. I thought it would be easy just to find somewhere that would let me in for the night so I could get a proper start, but you've opened my eyes to the fact that that just doesn't happen…" she took a long breath and let it out slowly. "I have no shelter, no food, no money to buy anything…and I can't go home. I _won't_ go home."

"What's wrong with here?" Aladdin sounded like a child from his front seat, quiet and unsure and nervous. "I mean, I know what's wrong with it. It's awful. Especially compared to where you would have lived, but…it's shelter. That's important in a place like this. And I can get you food. Money's a hard one, but you'd probably have a lot better luck getting a job when they see you than I've had."

Jasmine's heart beat heavily in her chest. "Aladdin, you don't even know me. I don't expect you to let me stay here and eat what little food you come by — that's not fair. Thank you for letting me stay the night, but I can't impose on you any longer. I'm just going to be an inconvenience and you're going to be worse off than you are already."

"Hey," his voice was quiet, but confident and Jasmine found herself looking at him without thinking. "I insist," he said strongly. "Just until you find your feet. We can help each other, and I haven't had proper company in a long time. It's going to be a good thing."

She swallowed nervously. "And you'll tell me as soon as you need me to leave."

"I promise,"

* * *

Jasmine must have been exhausted from her day. She was fine, speaking to the boy who had saved her, not letting anything too detailed go of where she'd come from, and then all of a sudden her eyes fell shut and her head fell to her chest and she snapped back up straight in surprise. "Did I just fall asleep?"

"Yeah," Aladdin chuckled and reached to take the empty pizza box from the back of the van. "It's okay. It's…" he looked at the dash, at the tiny clock. "It's after midnight, and you've had a big day. We should sleep."

Jasmine stared toward the piled blankets and cushions nervously, waiting for him to make the first move. She'd never slept in the same room as a man before, let alone in the same small bed. She imagined what the guards would think if they found her like this.

"I'll sleep here," Aladdin told her, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. He reached for one of the blankets and pulled it into the front seat with him, wrapping himself in it loosely.

"You can't do that," Jasmine insisted. "Let me stay there. I'm smaller than you, anyway."

"Only just," he joked. "It's fine, really. I'm comfortable. And you need sleep more than me, anyway."

"Do you always give everything you have away to other people?" she pushed a few pillows together as she spoke and draped maybe three blankets over her. Her outfit was uncomfortable for sleeping, but she hadn't brought anything else with her and she didn't know whether she should be showing the boy how extravagantly she was dressed under her robes at this stage. She might wake up with nothing. She removed her earrings and headband and slipped them under her pillow, took out the wide bands holding her hair and ran her fingers through the black mass, very aware Aladdin was staring at her silently. She could put on a show. She'd learned well by watching princess and rich diplomats all but fall at her feet. But she stopped before she normally would have and let her head fall to her pillow heavily. Aladdin didn't deserve for her to put on any more of an act than she already was. He was a good person. And she was too tired to do anything but curl up and rest, anyway.

"Sleep well, Jasmine," his voice was quiet from the front seat, and she smiled into her pillow. It smelled like incense, and maybe oils from his hair.

"Goodnight,"


End file.
